Here I am, innocently perusing ball gown fashions of 1823, and I come across this lovely quote…

A learned wife may be considered about as useless a member of society as a learned pig. Indeed, the latter may be looked upon as the less injurious of the two.

Ugh!

I … read more ↦

The most improbable of all improbable marriages?

The year: 1827

The hero: William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St. Albans

The heroine: Harriot Mellon, the daughter of strolling players (though some sources say her father was a chimney sweep) and a celebrated actress in London.

Their happily ever … read more ↦

Another improbable romance that works my muse into a tizzy!

The year: 1792
The hero: Sir Henry Crewe, 7th Baronet
The heroine: Ann (or “Nanette” or “Nanny”) Hawkins, lady’s maid (Hey, she shares a last name with the House of Trent!)
Their happily ever after: Sir Henry was one of … read more ↦

These are the kinds of stories that get my imagination going and inspire my fiction writing! (And here’s a teeny tiny spoiler about the House of Trent series–a Gypsy link is discovered in Sam’s story, book 3, The Scoundrel’s Seduction…)

The year: 1855
The hero: George, the Seventh Earl … read more ↦

As promised in my blog about Improbable (or Impossible?) Historical Relationships, I’m going to talk about royalty marrying into common blood in history. In the next few posts, I’ll talk about others who married people of a “lower station,” and how/if things are changing in modern times.

There has … read more ↦

I’ve heard a lot of critical murmurings about historical romances (The Duchess Hunt included) that dismiss the theme of dukes (and other lords and ladies) marrying far below their station. While many readers seem to adore the Cinderella trope, to some readers, it is unrealistic to the point of … read more ↦

I’m going to be starting a new “Stranger Than Fiction” Series, of the amazing, sometimes accurate and sometimes outlandish advice give by various writers and doctors of the Regency and early Victorian periods (generally from 1800 to 1840ish).

Today, I’m talking about teeth. Our methods today of cleaning the teeth … read more ↦

On a lighter note, here’s a tidbit about a Regency-era (1810) cat fight (from the 1810 Belle Assemblee):

A singular conflict lately took place in Cardiganshire. Two women, one eighty-eight years of age and the other eighty-six, who for nearly sixty years had been the most intimate friends, quarrelled respecting

As I’m writing my next book (which really needs a title!), picture me in a room surrounded by virtual papers flying around: Ooh regency balls! Ball gowns in 1815! Drawing room furniture! Great Regency gardens! Palladian architecture! The etiquette of dancing! What’s for supper? The evolution of a duchess’s dress!… read more ↦

So I was researching garters today (for my heroine Olivia, in Secrets of an Accidental Duchess), and I came upon this, from a book written in 1813. I didn’t know the garter custom was this old; and I really didn’t know it got this…um…wild!

GARTERS at WEDDINGS

There was